Clean Energy in Aquaculture: Using Technology to Grow Healthy Fish

Novaton, a Swiss multi-innovation company, combines clean\r\ntechnologies with clean energy in aquaculture to build and operate smart cleantech\r\naquaculture farms. Chairwoman and co-founder of Novaton Christine\r\nLedergerber says: “The result is 100% natural, healthy, chemical-free seafood.”\r\nUsing Novaton’s processes, natural healthy seafood can all be cultivated and\r\nproduced at large industrial scale and sold at affordable economic prices.

With so much information available on the internet,\r\nconsumers are becoming increasingly aware of – and angry with – the vast\r\namounts of unhealthy food available on global markets. Experts agree that the\r\nbulk of meat, fish, vegetables and other food products sold to consumers are\r\ntoo often weak in nutritional values, polluted with chemicals and riddled with\r\nunhealthy saturated fats and hidden sugars. The global population is growing\r\nand so is the demand for healthy chemical-free seafood and vegetables; while\r\nthe old fashioned frequent consumption of red meat and saturated fat is\r\nsteadily decreasing.

In this day and age, one could think there is no hiding from\r\ntechnology for any industry. Well, almost. Old-established players in aquaculture\r\nremain conservative and a majority still operate century-old methods which have\r\nlong proven disastrous to consumers’ health and the environment. For example,\r\ncultivating shrimp in vast open earth ponds, exposed to unstable water quality\r\nand crop disease still represent more than 80% of the world’s shrimp\r\naquaculture: this is where Novaton is positioning its offer of clean energy in\r\naquaculture and the technological knowhow for modern, healthy fish farming.\r\nNovaton calls this concept ‘positive aquaculture’.

In addition to offering clean solutions to replace the\r\nunsustainable methods practiced in the aquaculture industry, Novaton’s business\r\nmodel of building and operating cleantech farms is “designed to attract\r\nnewcomers and investors looking for fully packaged solutions to leap right into\r\na rare triple mega-trend business opportunity: [to] invest in clean\r\naquaculture, clean energy and hardcore business sustainability,” says Issam\r\nKabbani, CEO and co-founder of Novaton.

Reports abound of marine fisheries reaching saturation. The\r\nseas are being depleted of fish faster than they can reproduce. Oceans are\r\ncontaminated with heavy metals and plastics. The majority of marine farms\r\ncultivating salmon, seabass and other in-demand fish breeds operate diesel\r\nengines, which pump feed and chemicals into fish-filled cages anchored close to\r\nshores. These farms have for decades neglected to treat the accumulating waste\r\nfrom fish, from diesel and from rotting unconsumed fish feed in the sea,\r\ncreating ideal environments for festering sea lice and pathogens which attack\r\nthe fish; forcing the farms to increase their use of medicine and chemicals or\r\nface massive losses. How can this remain a source of commercial seafood much\r\nlonger?

Together with Norwegian partners Salmo Solar, Novaton has\r\ndeveloped a cleantech marine fish cage operating on solar energy which can\r\nfunction remotely in exposed seas. This autonomous industrial fish cage can be\r\ncustomised for growing salmon, seabass, seabream and other marine species\r\nwithout diesel.

Novaton is currently in the process of developing smart\r\nindustrial aquaculture platforms able to produce perfectly healthy natural fish\r\ninside polluted seas and lakes. This solution is called the ‘Novaton\r\nChessboard’ and will operate on hybrid solar-wind energy systems. These\r\nplatforms will deploy clean energy in aquaculture to cultivate organic fish in\r\nrecirculated clean water basins, suspended and isolated inside the polluted\r\nwaters of seas and lakes. Kabbani says: “Imagine a floating chessboard where the\r\nwhite cases are basins filled with clean unpolluted water, treated to grow\r\norganic fish and the dark cases are solar panels, all operated with smart\r\nautomated management systems.”

The case of the\r\nJangari lake

Dedi Yaya is one of thousands of low income fishermen\r\ncultivating tilapia and carp in West Java’s Jangari lake-reservoir in\r\nIndonesia. Tens of thousands of simple, 5 m by 6 m metallic fish cages called\r\n‘KJAs’ are kept afloat in small clusters, side by side, using empty rusting\r\nbarrels as ballasts, framed with bamboo sticks and plastic panels used as\r\nnarrow walkways between the submerged cages containing the cultivated fish.\r\nThousands of KJAs are scattered on the surface of the lake in allocated plots\r\nand form the root of the lake’s rural economy. Some of the larger KJA clusters\r\non the lake belong to commercial fish farms and even to multinational fisheries\r\noperating in the Jangari lake.

Over the last few years, Dedi Yaya and thousands of other\r\nfish farmers occasionally lose crops worth billions of rupees to mass deaths of\r\nfish. This increasingly recurrent economic and social disaster is caused by\r\ndramatic decreases in the lake’s oxygen levels and increases in pollution.

According to expert Mr M Agustian in his report to the\r\nIndonesian Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries in West Bandung, dated\r\nDecember 2017, the number of KJAs exceeds 77,000 plots: the Indonesian\r\ngovernment’s specified limit is set at a maximum of 12,000 plots. Nitrates and\r\nammonium in the water, emitted by fish waste and unconsumed fish feed, have\r\naccumulated over the years, destroying the ecosystem at the bottom of the lake.

Dr Gede Suantika of Bandung Teknologi Institut, a member of\r\nNovaton’s Scientific Board, says: “4-5ppm of oxygen [is] required to grow\r\ntilapia, but today the levels of oxygen below 2m from the surface barely reach\r\n2.3ppm.” At a depth of 5m, Novaton has measured a level of 1.5ppm.

According to Mr Agustian, the level of pollution has reached\r\nsuch a degree that not only causes mass death of fish, but that releases acids\r\nwhich dramatically corrode the equipment of the power plant and the cement of\r\nthe Cirata Dam on the Jangari lake.

In co-operation with the Bandung Teknologi Institut, Novaton\r\nis now proposing its Chessboard platform to the authorities, to be specifically\r\nadapted to resolve the domino effect problems in the Jangari lake and turn the\r\ndisaster around.

Dedi Yaya and fellow fishermen will be able to resume fish\r\ncultivation on exactly the same current spots on the lake they currently\r\noccupy, but this time in clean water basins. There will be no need for them to\r\nrelocate to cities and adjust to new jobs. Fishermen will move from currently\r\ncultivating unsustainable low quality fish in acidic water, to growing the\r\nhighest quality of natural organic fish, rich in healthy nutritional values –\r\nfish oils, omegas, proteins – suitable for export to global markets at premium\r\nprices. It will now be possible to accommodate an even larger number of the\r\nexisting cultivation plots and create new rural jobs.

Furthermore, the Chessboard will produce low cost solar\r\nenergy to operate the water treatment and waste management of the clean\r\naquaculture systems. As proposed, the Chessboard will double up as a floating\r\nsolar plant able to produce clean low cost energy up to 100MW or more, which\r\ncan be fed into the national grid; supporting the hydroelectric power plant of\r\nthe Circa dam and reduce reliance on coal-operated electric plants.

“The situation has become untenable. We need to implement\r\nthe first Chessboard pilot as soon as possible,” says Dean Dr Nyoman at Bandung\r\nTeknologi Institut, which is partnering with Novaton to resolve this\r\nsocioeconomic disaster. Novaton is currently conducting discussions with\r\nstakeholders in West Java to reach preliminary agreements to build a commercial\r\npilot.

Once the Jangari lake pilot is operating successfully,\r\nNovaton will have established the viability of the positive domino effects of\r\nthe Chessboard platform. When this stage is reached, the company intends to\r\nbuild a permanent consortium of strategic partners to offer and operate such\r\nsolutions on a global scale. Around the world other ‘Jangari lakes’ are\r\nthreatening the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of low income people and\r\ntheir environment. The Novaton Chessboard platform should be able to turn\r\ndisastrous socioeconomic situations around to optimal solutions.

The importance of\r\nclean energy in aquaculture

To this day, fish farmers remain exposed to critical factors\r\ndramatically affecting their harvest: unstable water quality, crop disease,\r\nhigh crop mortality and unpredictable behaviour from surrounding natural\r\nelements.

For years low labour costs and outdated cultivation methods\r\nsubstituted for water pumps, filters, aerators and skimmers but created other\r\nserious problems and increased the pollution in open ponds: untreated organic\r\nwaste, high crop mortality rates and the increased use of chemicals and antibiotics\r\nto combat pathogens attacking fish and shrimp were all cultivated in\r\nincreasingly polluted environments.

Not all farmers can afford modern equipment; and energy\r\ncosts remain an underlying issue. Usability of equipment is dependent on the\r\navailability of electricity. Unfortunately, energy supply remains scarce and\r\nexpensive in most developing countries. In Indonesia and Thailand, electricity\r\ncosts between between $0.12/kWh and $0.15/kWh (€0.11/kWh-€0.14/kWh) and is\r\noften supplied by coal operated electricity plants. Sometimes it is totally\r\nunavailable in rural areas. Vietnam subsidises some of the electricity costs\r\nincurred by farmers, but for how long is this sustainable?

Clean energy in aquaculture is one of Novaton’s core\r\nproficiencies and strategies: by introducing low cost solar energy whenever\r\npossible, smart water management systems can play their essential role at\r\naffordable costs.

Clean energy combined\r\nwith clean technology

Achieving performance in land-based aquaculture requires the\r\ncombination and management of several essential parameters. Novaton has taken\r\nthe growing ‘Recirculated Aquaculture Systems’ (RAS) aquaculture technique\r\nseveral steps further by including proprietary cleantech solutions, organic\r\nbiology and smart water management systems operating Artificial Intelligence\r\n(AI). This includes the treatment of waste to avoid dumping any waste pollution\r\nback into nature and operate a medicine-free and chemical-free aquaculture,\r\nwith adequate biology, inside recirculated clean water basins. The end result\r\nis a combination of win-win factors all the way to happy consumers eating\r\nnatural and healthy fish.

This is why Novaton calls this chain reaction ‘positive\r\nAquaculture’. The three key success factors for high performing clean\r\naquaculture – clean energy, smart water systems and no chemicals or antibiotics\r\nused – are now assembled under one integrated operating system. Crops are 100%\r\nnatural, free of chemicals and contain highly improved nutritional values. “We\r\ntest our crops at Osaka University and the results are recurrently confirmed:\r\nhigher proteins, higher Omegas, higher PUFAs, lower uric acids, all extremely\r\nbeneficial to overall health,” says Dr Suantika.

Quality shrimp and other fish farming is now possible\r\nanywhere there is sufficient sun, limited amounts of saline water and a small\r\npiece of land, operating smart tech natural aquaculture on low cost solar\r\npower.

Novaton has signed contracts to build and operate cleantech\r\nfarms in several countries on three continents. Global distributors are in\r\ntalks with the company to secure supply to retailers and directly to consumers\r\nworldwide. The food distribution business is also fast changing: Uber Eats,\r\nAmazon and Alibaba are introducing new business models to deliver processed and\r\ncooked food directly to consumers.

The Hinderling\r\nislands

Professor Thomas Hinderling was a Swiss nuclear scientist.\r\n“His dream was to build giant solar islands producing clean energy anywhere on\r\nthe seas, available for all, replacing nuclear energy plants and fossil fuel,”\r\nsays his widow Christine Ledergerber Hinderling.

For this purpose, Novaton was created by the couple in 2010.\r\nA proof of concept was built in the UAE in the first decade of this century,\r\nbut the economic crisis and the sad passing away of Professor Hinderling put a\r\nstop to the project.

His wife kept the company afloat for years, preserving the\r\npatents and tirelessly looking for the right partner and opportunity to achieve\r\nher late husband’s dream. This opportunity arrived in 2016 when she met Issam\r\nKabbani, a successful entrepreneur from mixed Swiss-Saudi origins. The two\r\ndecided to partner in the reviving of Novaton and focus the ‘solar islands’\r\ntechnology to serve aquaculture’s dramatic energy problems. “We soon discovered\r\nthat offering clean energy alone was not sufficient. Modern aquaculture needs\r\ncomplete cleantech solutions operating on clean energy,” Kabbani says. Novaton\r\nassembled a scientific board composed of eminent world class scientists and\r\nbecame what it is today; a provider and operator of cutting edge cleantech\r\naquaculture farms, producing 100% natural seafood.

Novaton intends to achieve Professor Hinderling’s vision\r\nwithin seven years. However, the Hinderling solar islands will not only produce\r\nclean energy at sea, they will also contain and operate smart aquaculture farms\r\nunderneath, producing premium quality seafood at industrial scale.

Recently Professor Bruce Patterson and Dr Andreas\r\nBorgshulte, both of EMPA Switzerland and members of Novaton’s scientific board,\r\nhave co-published a scientific study (PNAS) whereby a Hinderling island could\r\nbe adapted to extract excess CO2 and hydrogen from ocean waters and\r\nproduce methanol, a liquid fuel suitable for transportation. Removing excess\r\ncarbon dioxide from the environment, producing clean energy in aquaculture and\r\nproducing clean seafood at the same time may be possible sooner rather than\r\nlater.

Healthy, edible 24\r\ncarat gold

“Novaton produces 24 carat gold,” says one industry expert\r\nand regulator who requested anonymity.

To execute on signed long term multinational contracts to\r\nbuild cleantech farms in various countries, Novaton is now opening its capital\r\nto attract investors with similar values and vision. It recently expanded its\r\nsupervisory board to include world reputed strategists and financial experts;\r\nand is looking to expand its operational team.

“Our challenge is not in finding clients or developing our\r\ntechnologies, it is and will always be to find the best and most qualified\r\npersons to join our operational team,” says A Mohanna, Novaton’s MENA director\r\nand senior member of the management team. For this reason, Novaton keeps close\r\nties with leading scientific institutions such as TUM, Germany, EPFL/CSEM\r\nSwitzerland and ITB in Indonesia. The company is planning to build training centres\r\nin each country where it is operating in co-operation with local scientific\r\nuniversities, to train cleantech aquaculture operators for its farms.

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The domino effect does not stop here. Christine Ledergerber\r\nsays: “To achieve a completely natural value chain, we are looking at\r\npartnering with natural fish feed producers and use microalgae and shrimp shell\r\nto create the most suitable organic feed for our crops.”

Source : Goverment Europe